Magazine for an elongated record medium



April 17, 1956 D. J. MUNROE MAGAZINE FOR AN ELONGATED RECORD MEDIUMFiled Jan. 19, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. ,D/QZJLZZ Jj izmoe QM MW,

April 17, 1956 D. J. MUNROE' 2,742,284

MAGAZINE FOR AN ELONGATED RECORD MEDIUM Filed Jan. 19, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet 2 April 17, 1956 D. J. MUNROE MAGAZINE FOR AN ELONGATEDRECORD MEDIUM Filed Jan. 19, 1951 3 SheetsSheet 3 INVENTOR. ficzaz'ai J/zzzwe V c 2,742,284 Macrame FQR N ELONGATED- RECORD MEDIUM David I.Munroe, Racihe; Wis., a'sslgnor to- Webster Electrtccemptmykaeine,Wis-., a corporation of Delaware .h pitc'afiouhnual 19,1951, set-aim.206,869

Claims; (o1. z71-2.1s

Thepresent invention relates to a magazine for an elon gated recordmedium. 1

flhe'magazineofthepresent invention is capable of folding and holding ina storage chamber a substantial length of anfelongated record medium,which may he a tape ofi the type commonly used-in magneticrecorderlfeproducer apparatus. Theinvention has for its primary obiectthe provision of a new and improved magazine of this character and alsothe provision of a new and improved reproducerapparatus with which themagazine is associated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved magazine for holding lengths of elongated record medium whichis simple and inexpensive to construct, which may be readily attached.to and detached from associated apparatus such asareproducer, and whichis constructed with record medium guiding means adapted. cooperativelyto be associated with record medium driving, and guidingmeans formingpart of the apparatus.

, Ahfurther object the present invention is to provide a new andi-mproved' apparatus for reproducing from an elongated record medium,which apparatus has associated with it arriagazine adapted dtachably tobe placed on the .front'of the apparatus, the apparatusbeingsocongprovide anew and improved record mediumanagazine so mmune-m1and arranged that the medium can be entirely ehclosedwithin the magazinewhereby the latter "can be Il a-11521351166 bl mailedwithout likelihoodof injury to The medium which can be shipped: in the magazine. Thissafety feature can also be utilized during standby periods when therecorder reproducer apparatus is not being used or is being. moved fromone location to another.

In brief, the present invention comprises structure defining 'a-st'oragechamber for an elongated record medium, which str'uctureincludes spacedapart front and back walls anditpper andlower sides and-includingentrance and exit openings providing for the ingress and egress of therecord medium, which maybe magnetic tape of the type common-ly-used withmagnetic recorder-reproducer apparatus. The-magazineis especiallyintended to hold and store, so to speak, a substantial length of anendless tape which is utilized as for announcement purposes. The tapeenters the chamber through an enlarged inlet opening and leaves thechamber through an exit opening. The discharge .isefiected through feltpads engaging the tapesoas to pre- Viitli10l'b'tlili1 a single strand orribbon "of the tape from being d S s P n dischargedandto maintain the't'a'pe'under tension.

f ice The tape is automatically folded inside the chamber so tliat asubstantial .quantityof tape. is loosely held inthe a transducer andtape guiding and driving means forming part of the apparatus. Themagazine is mounted in: front of the apparatus clear of obstructionssothatmagazines of different depths may be utilized, even magazinesextending below the bottom of the apparatus proper. The magazine mayalso be constructed with the entrance and exit openings in closeproximity, as at the top of the magazine, to the associatedrecorder-reproducer apparatus so, as to reduce to a minimumv the length.of medium exposed in use. Also, the portion of the magazine between theentrance'and exit openings may be openable to enable the medium totallyto be enclosed in the magazine, for shipmerit, etc.

Other objects andadvantages of the present invention wiil becomeapparent from theensuing description ofi an illustrative embodimentthereof, in the course. of which reference is hadto the accompanyingdrawings in; which;

Fig. 1 is. a perspective View of a magnetic reproducer constructed inaccordance with: the invention, the view illustratinglbutpart of aperforaaedremcvabie cover forming part of the apparatus;. p

- Fig. 2 is a fargmentary front clevation, partly broken away toillustrate details ofthe magazine; p T

Figs. 3 and. 4. are fragmentary vertical transverse cross ectional viewstaken Fig' ..2; v ,5

Fig. 5 is a partly broken away perspective View of another form ofmagazine constructed in accordance with the present inventionyand Rig. 6isa fragmentary perspective View with portions broken away toillustrate. a modification of the magazine shown inFig. 5.

, -netic tape 12, upon which a suitable messagerisrecorded.

The reproduoer includes tape d-ni-ving means and reproducing means to bedescribed later and :a novel magazine indicated as a whole by referencecharacter 14, which is detachably secured to thefiront wall i thereproducer.

:In orderto provide a better understanding of the nature and advantages:of the present invention, it might he stated that the reproducer:h'ereuillustrated is intended for use in making periodic announcementsor making such an nouncements. in response to automatic control functionoccurring as upon the opening of a doo1'-or cover or the like. Gr, theapparatus might be' placed into continuous operation upon depression ofa control button 18 at the front of the reproducer 10, which buttonconstitutes an -apparatus start and run buttom However, the starting andstopping 'of the reproducer can be effected "automatically ashereinbefore mentioned, Under automatic operation the "-reproducer isstarted as by the opening of a door or a 'c'overandit operatessunt'ilthetape, which maybe an endless tape, completes a cycle of movement,whereupon the alongfthe lines 3-3 and al -dot reproducer is deenergizedand placed in temporary nonoperative condition.

The tape 12, upon which a suitable message is recorded, is driven by arotatable constant speed capstan having an annular groove adapted fairlysnugly to receive the tape. The tape is held against the capstan by apinch roller 22 mounted on a pivotally movable arm 24 biased toward thecapstan as by a spring 27.

The tape driving means is located in advance of a suitable transducer 26mounted upon the front wall16 of the reproducer and including a housing28 having a longitudinal opening 30 enabling the tape to come into closeproximity with the magnetic core of an electro-magnetic I pickup devicewhich may be of the type disclosed and claimed in my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 79,663, filed March 4, 1949, and assigned to theassignee of this application now abandoned but superseded by applicationSerial No. 408,235, filed February 14, 1954.

The tape is guided past the transducer and capstan by a pair of idlerrollers 32 and 34 in advance of the transducer and capstan,respectively, and in alignment therewith. The tape is held against thetransducer and idler roller 32 by suitable biasing means such as thespring arms 36 and 38 secured ,to a bracket 40 pivotally mounted on thefront wall 16 of the reproducer. as the felt pads 42 and 44, may beplaced at the ends of the arms for engagement with the tape.

The magazine 14 of the present invention includes a tape storage chambercomprising a back wall 52, and

a front wall 54 spaced therefrom a. distance readily to receive thetape, see Fig. 3. It includes also a top wall 56, preferably constitutedby an integral forwardly extending flange of the back wall and providedwith a relatively long entrance opening 58 through which the tape entersthe storage chamber. The ingress of the tape into the chamber isfacilitated by flaring the opening somewhat and by associating with itguiding means 60. The flaring Suitable pads, such iseasily provided byan upwardly and rearwardly inclined flange 62 on the back wall andupwardly and forwardly inclined flange 640m the front wall 54, whichflange can extend the full length of that wall. The guiding meanscomprise a generally U-shaped structure, the bight of which is securedto the front wall and from the legs of which there extend the opposedarms 66 and 68 terminating near the capstan. 1

The magazine includes also a bottom wall 7 0 and end walls 72 and 74,constituted as by integral rearwardly extending flanges of the frontwall. The bottom wall is provided with a-tape exit opening 76 Withinwhich are mounted a pair of felt pads 78 adapted to engage oppositesides of the tape, see Fig. 2, thereby to prevent more than I a singlethickness of the tape from being discharged and to maintain the tapeunder tension. The pads may be mounted upon a flanged supporting bracket80, the vertical back of which is secured to the rear of the back wall52 a and the horizontal spaced flanges of which extend through the backwall to receive the pads so that the pads are located substantially inthe exit opening 76.

In accordance with another feature of the invention the front and backwalls of the magazine are detachably supported and secured to each otherby meansenabling ready attachment and detachment. For this purpose therear wall is provided with resilient fastening clips 82, only one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 3, and the front wall with a ball-endedrearwardly extending fastening post 84. This construction enables theready initial placing of the tape in the magazine as well assubstitution of one tape for another.

The magazine as a whole itself is portable and is also adapteddetachably to be secured to the front panel 16 of the reproducer byfastening means enabling ready attachment and detachment. The fasteningmeans may be identical with that already described and include a springclip 86 and a ball-ended fastening post 88, the former being mounted onthe front panel 16 and the latter on the rear wall 52. It is preferredthat three of the latter fastening means be used, there being one ateach of the upper corners and one at the center lower part of the backwall.

The use and operation is' also facilitated, in accordance with thepresent invention, by providing tape guiding means on the magazine. Theguiding means may take the form of idler rollers 90 and 92, both ofwhich may be, as illustrated, secured to the back wall and the former ofwhich .is located below the tape exit openingand the latterin alignmentwith the guide roller 32 mounted upo the front panel in advance of thepickup head.

The tape may be protected in use by a cover having a perforated top andfront wall 93 and side walls 94 of which but one has been shown andwitha substantially open bottom wall defining a slot 96. The bottom wall ismade open so that magazines having heights difierent from thatillustrated may be placed on the apparatus so that longer tape lengthsmay be used. In this connection it should be noted that the presentmagazine and reproducer are so constructed and arranged that magazinesof various heights may be used without any different mode ofinstallation or operation.

Assuming that a magazine has been placed on the reproducer and the tapethreaded past the guiding and driving means and the transducer, and thereproducer placed in operation as by depression of the start button 18,the tape is moved past the transducer by the cooperative action of thecapstan and pinch roller. The signals previously placed on the tape arenow reproduced periodically as complete lengths of the tape pass bythetransducer. A considerable length of tape may be stored in themagazine chamber which it enters through the inlet opening 58 andwherein it is folded in a somewhat haphazard fashion as illustrated inFig. 2. It leaves the magazine at a rate determined by the drive andpast the pads 78 which maintain the tape under tension.

When it is desired to change the message being reproduced, the magazinecan be removed along with the tape and another magazine with a tapehaving a different message can be substituted, or, if desired, the frontwall of the magazine alone may be removed for substitution of a newtape. I

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a modified magazineconstructed and arranged to reduce the length of tape exposed betweenthe magazineand associated apparatus, thereby minimizing the likelihoodof damage to the tape. The magazine is also characterized by aconstruction enabling the tape entirely to be enclosed in the magazineso that the magazine can be used as a shipping or storage container oras a holding device for the tape when the apparatus is moved from placeto place with the magazine on it.

The magazineis indicated in Fig. 5 by the reference character 100. Itincludes a tape storage chamber 102 defined by a back wall 104 and afront wall 106 spaced therefrom, the back and front walls correspondinggenerally to the walls 52 and 54 of the previously described embodiment.The magazine also includes a top wall comprising a first portion 108constituted as by an integral forwardly extending flange on the backwall and a sec-- ond portion 110 which is openable either by removal orhinged movement relative to the magazine, the latter type ofconstruction being illustrated and the hinges being indicated by thereference characters 112. -If desired the hinged portion can be held inclosed position as by suitable latching or spring type biasing means.These two portions are separated sufiicicntly to provide the magazinewith a. relatively long entrance opening 114 having associated with itthe flare providing flange 116.

The magazine includes also a bottom wall 118 and spaced end walls, ofwhich only the end wall 120 is shown. The upper end of the latter isspaced a short distance from the top wall portion 110, thereby toprovide a tape exit opening 122 from which the tape emerges p from themagazine. 7 V a transverse slot 130 through which the tape moves, thisslot being in line with the opening between the pads and of tape that isexposed during use of the apparatus.

upwardly in line with the tape guiding roller 32 shown in Fig. 1.

The tape is guidedthrough the exit opening by tape guiding means takingthe form of a pin 124 which can be secured to the back wall of themagazine. 1 This pin is located substantially in line with the guidingroller 32 and the exit opening 122 so that the tape freely moves out ofthe magazine.

The tape is maintained taut and more than a single strand or loop isprevented from being pulled out of the magazine by the tape engagingfelt pads 126 secured forward, in so far as tape movement is concerned,of the guiding means 124. The .pads are mounted upon a suitable support,which may take the form ofa vertically extending element 128 defining,in efiect, a partition preventing the tape loops in the magazine fromgetting tangled with and interfering with the discharge of the tape 12The support 128 is provided with the guide pin 124. It should be notedalso that the support-partition 128 extends approximately to the bottomof the magazine and divides the storage chamber into what may be calleda main storage chamber and an exit chamber.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is illustrated a slight modification of themagazine of Fig. 5 with the corresponding parts designated by the samereference numerals. In this case the vertically extending element 128'is provided with a horizontal extension 134 having the transverse slot130 defined therein through which the tape 12 leaves the magazine, thisexit opening being at the bottom of the magazine, The same pads 126, andguiding means 124 would still be employed. The support 128' againdivides the magazine into a main storage chamber and an exit chamberwith the tape exit opening at the bottom.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoingdetailed description of the invention that the location of the entranceand exit openings at or near the top wall of the magazine places theseopenings very close to the associated recorder-reproducer apparatus,thereby minimizing and reducing to a minimum the lezlgth spaced upwardlyfrom said bottom flange, ;means in Having thus described my invention,what I desire to claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. A portable storage magazine for holding an elongated length of recordmedium and adapted to be detachably mounted on a supporting membercomprising a first wall member, a second wall member having flanges onthe sides and bottom edge thereof, means for detachably mounting saidsecond wall member on said first wall member to define a cavity forreceiving said record medium, partition means positioned within saidcavity adjacent one of said flanges and extending from the top towardthe bottom of said cavity to define an exit passageway, said partitionmeans having an opening therein tegral with said first wall andextending outwardly therefrom toward said second wall to partially closesaid cavity, and means movably mounted on said first wall and spacedfrom both said integral portion and from one of said side flanges todefine an entrance opening and an exit opening in alignment with saidpassageway.

2. The storage magazine set forth in claim 1 in which the partitionmeans includes means spaced from and extending parallel to the bottomflange of the second wall member to define an extension of said exitpassageway in communication with said cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS743,419 Armat Nov. 10, 1903 1,297,049 Webster ..,Mar. 11, 1919 1,341,108Burnett May 25, 1920 1,399,208 Grabhom Dec. 6, 1921 1,883,987 LasowskyOct. 25, 1932 2,410,569 Conant Nov. 5, 1946 2,499,700 Tinkham Mar. 7,1950 2,542,506 Gibson Feb. 20, 1951 2,546,124 Hart Mar. 20, 19512,551,198 Barrett May 1, 1951

